Most DANGEROUS, Most STUPID, and Most IGNORANT animal that we are!

I am feeling very sad while writing this. I really feel like crying on the apathy of ours.

Since last year or so, when I give talks within India and around the world, I have been characterizing the modern humans as “Most dangerous, Most stupid and Most ignorant” animals on the planet. Well, no one takes objection!

We are the most dangerous because of ALL the CO2 emission caused by humans in the last 200,000 years of history; 50% of the carbon emissions got emitted in the last 30 years. Very dangerous. Despite all warnings and precautions, the emissions are rising continuously.

Most stupid because all the natural elements that support our life like air, water, land, river, forest are in bad shape. All the natural elements have degraded. We can not take a glass of water from any river and drink, which was a normal 30 years ago. 

Most ignorant because in my talks when I ask people how many of you use solar energy, very few people raise hands. These days using solar panels is the use of solar energy. I have to remind them of the food we eat comes from solar energy, the air, the water is all because of the solar energy. Our existence is because of solar energy. But we are blind and ignorant of this fact. 

Acres of land in Australia are burnt, and presently, the same parts are under severe flood, but we are not understanding. Temperatures in Paris went above 45⁰C, Venice went underwater, Delhi went through the worst air quality, but we are not understanding. Our actions are responsible for all these anomalous conditions.

We are the dangerous, stupid and ignorant animals as we do not understand the planet Earth has only limited resources, and overexploitation of these resources for our greed of wealth is going to make us miserable and less comfortable in the long-run. We do not understand that there is NO planet B.

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Report 2018, the world is already hotter by about 1⁰C and limiting global warming to 1.5°C would require “rapid and far-reaching” transitions in Energy.” According to the report, the world should be cutting CO2 emission by 45% in 2030 & “reaching ‘net carbon zero’ around 2050”.

Making better predictions of weather through the meteorological station is not the solution. Boosting the production of more automobiles by incentivizing the sector or reducing interest rates is not the solution. Making taller buildings, wider roads and faster cars is not the solution. Global economic growth at the cost of increased instability, increased violence and a higher risk of global warming is not the solution.

Until we realize that we and our actions are the cause, that unlimited consumption is the cause, our pathetic treatment of planet Earth is the cause, we will ruin this planet to the level from where we will not be able to recover. We will leave an unliveable and spoiled world for the future generation to suffer, suffer and suffer. 

In this regard, I have started the Energy Swaraj Foundation, a section-8, not-for-profit organization, which has undertaken to provide complete solar solutions for those willing to go completely off-the-grid. Under the Foundation, we started two campaigns - #SurrenderElectricityConnection and #IssWinterFridgeBandKar. Under the #SurrenderElectricityConnection, the aim to encourage people to give up their electricity connection, and bring 10% of the population off-the-grid. On the other hand, #IssWinterFridgeBandKar, over 100 households, had stopped using their fridge during the winter.